Alphabet Soup
by AnneLea
Summary: Alphabetically ordered dribs and drabbles. Some interconnect; others do not. Characters featured: Ayame, Bisuke, Chiyo, Deidara, Ebisu, Fugaku, Genma, Hinata, Iruka, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Lee, Matsuri, Naruto, Obito, Pakkun, Rin, Sakura, Tenzo, Urushi, Watase, Yugao, and Zaji. Others, too, but not as the focus.


**Ayame**

Cooking was a passion shared between father and daughter, which explained why Ayame took over the ramen stand after her father died. She kept everything the way he had, only changing menu items if requested by enough people. She lowed Uzumaki Naruto one free bowl a day, though he always ordered more and, now, left a hefty tip. The thing was, cooking wasn't her only passion.

Her son was her new primary passion. He was the son of a shinobi who died in the Fourth War, and she never revealed the father's name to anyone, not even her father before he died. That was the official story, anyway. In truth, on the boy's first day of school, his teacher insisted on walking the boy home since Ayame was working hard through the dinner rush. When she saw Umino Iruka sit down at a table with her son, her heart stopped.

There was the man she denied an honest answer sitting with her son, staring at her knowingly, demandingly. It was obvious who the boy's father was, and Iruka knew. He was pissed at her and barely hiding it from their son.

**Bisuke**

Synthetic rawhide was the best thing humans ever invented as far as Bisuke was concerned. It started off hard, pretending to be crunchy, but smoothed out nice and gooey after a while. It was the perfect meditation stick, taking time to wear down into chewy goodness that only rewarded the patient. While the others of his pack galavanted outside with the human puppies, Bisuke would relax and chew on his glorious rawhide.

When he got a small morsel ready to pull away from the main hunk, it happened. A small human hand grabbed at his tail. He ignored it. The hand smacked his butt. Bisuke growled his warning. He was nobody's pet, especially not a smacking toy for a human puppy. The blond crawled up farther, spying a downturned ear. The child grabbed and pulled. With a yip, Bisuke had to remind himself that biting human puppies was a bad idea. Instead of biting, he grabbed his rawhide and went to the other side of the room. Thankfully the child's sire saw the interaction and pulled the slimy human puppy away and out the door, a muffled "sorry, man" from the human's mouth.

Ah respite... and more peace and quiet to chew on his favorite thing... unfortunately now nursing a sore ear, sore tail, and ruffled fur on his ass... Ugh.

**Chiyo**

Chiyo once thought that hearing the newborn cries of her son was the best sound in the world.

Now, on this day, it was the newborn cries of her still purple colored grandson that replaced that memory. He was sweet, innocent, and possibly the first member of her family that would know peace in his lifetime. Though the countries still fought, diplomacy was working its way into the world they lived in. Perhaps, when he was as old as she was, he would smile happily about the lack of war, about whatever other vocation he chose to pick up as his life's work... anything other than a shinobi.

**Deidara**

The strangest thing about getting mouths on your hands? It was tasting with them. For a long time, his hands had been sewn shut as a child. He had to learn to respect them first. He couldn't swallow with them, but he could bite, chew, and articulate with the tongue. He was three the first time he was allowed to use them, and the lesson was about identifying texture, quantity, and taste.

Years later, as he made his own clay mixtures, he learned that he didn't like the taste of explosives. So, he drowned them out with tea, mint, chocolate... anything really. His favorite flavor was nigiri, definitely!

**Ebisu**

Never in his life would he admit it, but under a plastic bin of seasonal clothing, Ebisu kept a secret compartment. Inside was a collection of dirty magazines and Icha Icha, a couple of them signed by Jiraiya-sama. Those were ones he stole from Hatake Kakashi, replaced with expertly forged copies. It was his dream to do that with all Hatake's collection one day, and a test of skill he set for himself to one day achieve.

If Konohamaru, Udon, or (gods forbid) Moegi were to find them, he'd have to burn them from the child's memory.

He didn't look forward to that struggle.

**Fugaku**

When Sasuke completed his first fire technique, Uchiha Fugaku was a very proud man. It filled him with the knowledge that his sons were both going to be great men and exemplary assets to the Uchiha clan. But how to celebrate?

Mikoto planned a family dinner in which Itachi actually participated, putting a hold on plans he had with Shisui. Itachi took the boy on a special hunting excursion to acquire the foot moulds of a giant cat. But what could Fugaku do to show his pride?

On his way to investigate a dispute in the market, he found his answer.

Sasuke had a love of fruits and vegetables, a blessing when it came to getting him to eat his dinner as a toddler. With a small smile, Fugaku bought a bright red basket and filled it with as many kinds of tomatoes, apples, and red peppers he could find before going home and placing it on his youngest son's bed.

**Genma**

The fall harvest was his favorite time of year. Pumpkins were ripe, and people made lanterns from them for their front porches. The right direction of a breeze brought the candle warmed scent to his nose along with the dry leaves. Bakeries put out sweets with pumpkin in them, often topped with the salted seeds. Gai and Ebisu would cook all sorts of foods for him, sometimes mixing alcohol with the pulverized gourd pulp for birthday parties. He always attended Hatake Kakashi's birthday for that very reason. He had good friends.

**Hinata**

The first time Hinata stepped up to defend Naruto, it was at home, against one of her cousins. The man dared to call him worthless. She was grounded to her rooms for a week.

The second time she defended him was when he was flat on the ground. Pein was going to kill him. She knew she couldn't stop Pein, but she could buy Naruto enough time to get back up on his feet.

The third time she put herself in harm's way for him, Neji was lost. The fourth time was soon after that, and, despite the pain of Neji's death still close at hand, she found a bit of self pride in deflecting something so powerful as the Ten Tails. When he held her hand openly, confidently, comfortably after that, she didn't shy away. It was too late to back down from anything concerning him.

There was a fifth time she thought she would need to step in and protect him. He had come to speak with her father and sister. He actually got down on his knees and bowed to them... then asked for their permission to court her. For as much as they had protected him in the war, they still didn't like him as a person, she thought. When her father's face turned to shock and her sister's to a frown, Hinata came running out. They would strike him and he wouldn't see it coming.

Boy was she wrong. Once her family gathered their wits about them again, sharing a knowing look, her father told Naruto to get up.

"You're asking the wrong people, Naruto-kun," he said. "If you want to date my daughter, you have to get her permission first."

**Iruka**

Contrary to popular belief, Umino Iruka was not a highly skilled Chunin with a couple A-ranks under his belt. He chose to stay a Chunin.

Somewhere in a storage facility, buried deep at the bottom of a pile in a unit Iruka rented, laid an ANBU uniform and a collection of weapons he currently claimed not to be an expert at using. Perhaps, this many years later, he wasn't an expert anymore.

After one year in ANBU he lost only one mission. He lost it so badly that he was busted back to a Chunin and given the option of either being a teacher or a prison guard for five years before being allowed to work his way back up to Jonin, and, if he chose, ANBU.

He also lost the love of his life on that mission.

He chose to be a teacher, and to stay a teacher the rest of his life.

It didn't help, however, that Kakashi backed him up on keeping that image all the time... like pushing him out of the way of kunai he could handle himself. Bastard.

**Jiraiya**

There was one single time Tsunade admitted she loved him. She didn't say it, exactly, but what she did say boiled down to one thing. Everyone she loved died. She said she didn't want to loose him, too.

He never took a prostitute again.

Oh, he tried... but the guilt would creep in at the first touch.

Jiraiya loved her. She loved him. He hated that a bit.

**Kakashi**

Kakashi wished he could get the nerve to sit Sakura down and give her a wake-up call. Although her childish feelings for Sasuke had lead to her and Naruto growing greatly, her actions any time they were near Sasuke, brought out the worst in her. She let her guard down, every time opening herself to the same death Kakashi had dealt to Rin... the difference was that Sasuke meant to do it the second time Kakashi jumped in and saved her.

He was sick of saving someone who should know better... sick of saving her from a darker version of himself.

He was never so proud of her as the day she told Sasuke where to stuff his wedding proposal. She even broke his nose to drive home the point.

**Lee**

His mother always told him it was an adolescent mistake that lead to the greatest gift of her life... Lee. She wasn't really sure which of the two men she had slept with was his father, and so refused to tell him either of their names.

Needless to say, he wasn't really all that shocked to find out Maito Gai was one of them.

**Matsuri**

"How do you know when you're attracted to someone?"

The question caught Matsuri completely off guard. "Kazekage-sama?"

He stared at her, waiting.

"I... usually get nervous around him... I want to impress him somehow, every time we're around each other. I want to kiss him, or at least hug him."

"So, the urge to show physical affection, and being nervous at the same time?"

"Yes."

"How will you ever learn if he likes you back?"

"By one day getting the courage," she answered, looking away.

Gaara's hand fell on hers atop the table. When she looked back at him, his face was already near hers. He wrapped his other arm around her and planted a quick kiss on her cheek before quickly walking away.

**Naruto**

After all the random times Iruka had made surprise visits, brought him food, took him out to the movies, just walked by his side in the park, and all the life lessons he imparted, Naruto finally found the way to start repaying him.

It came to Naruto's attention that, more than once, Iruka forgot his lunch, breakfast, or both due to grading papers or tutoring a struggling student. So, on occasion, Iruka would wake up to the papers neatly graded and stacked on his desk at home, a meal freshly prepared on his desk at the school, or a note telling him to meet Naruto after work for a late lunch/early dinner in the park.

Naruto bought him leisure reading, incense, a new music CD, or offered to tutor students in his place.

**Obito**

One of the last things Obito did before dying was to tell Sasuke what fools they had both been. Obito was a fool for turning his back on the world. Sasuke was a fool for turning his back on his team, especially Sakura.

"You'll never have another chance with her," he told Sasuke. "Love and support her anyway. See her for who and what she is now. Somebody else will break her heart, see to it that that fool is punished. Protect her from a distance and stop believing you're top dog all the time. You're not. She will never want to be yours again, but she will still love you and rely on you."

**Pakkun**

Being taken from your mother, brothers, and sisters at a month old wouldn't mean much to a human, but to a dog, it meant the world. You had to prove yourself to the rest of the new pack, had to fight even harder for a meal, and had to do silly things to get the attention of the adults. It meant struggling to get anywhere near a warm body for the night so you didn't stay awake freezing, and it meant not knowing all the rules and, subsequently, getting punished for not knowing... a lot.

That's what his mom said.

She was wrong.

The six-year-old human who was supposed to feed him, clean up his messes, show him the ropes, and eventually teach him to work as a ninken was better than that. He was fed regularly, and better stuff than the adults got. He was given a name, Pakkun, not just the "hey you" everyone before called him. He had his own dedicated toys in the young human's bedroom. He had a soft bed of his own, including blankets, but, on the cold nights, he was actually invited to share the bed with the boy. Training was fun, too. The boy used clones of himself as target practice for biting, scenting, and even to keep Pakkun company when he himself had to leave for the day.

Pakkun would slip off on his own sometimes, though. Talking was something that would benefit their relationship more if it went both ways. He could be a better ninken if he could talk to his human partner. Sure, it was always going to be up to Pakkun whether or not to sign on to the main pack the boy's father contracted with, but Pakkun had already made up his mind. He would only work with Kakashi. Kakashi was probably the exception to the rule when it came to how humans treated dogs.

He was almost five-months old when he was confident enough to walk up to his human, greet him at the door with a wagging tail and show off his accomplishment. As the boy's sandals flew off his feet, Pakkun came running.

"Kakashi!" he yelled, then jumped up into the boy's arms... the boy's happy arms that hugged him back and fingers that scratched in the right spots behind the ears. This would be a good friendship and future partnership for years to come. He just knew it!

**Rin**

Baby brothers were clumsy creatures. They always fell and hit their head on something at leas once every couple days. A lot of times they would skin their knees, elbows, hands... anything really. Every time they did, they cried... loudly... forever. The thing was, she couldn't think of anyone else's baby brothers or sisters that were as clumsy as hers. When she asked her mom, she learned about something called spina bifida. Her brother didn't have a bad case of it, but it was bad enough that he had more trouble walking than other kids his age. Sometimes he just couldn't get his legs to work at all. It was painful and explained why he was grumpy a lot of times when he shouldn't have been.

So, when her mother explained this, Rin made a vow. She would become the world's best surgeon. She would fix her brother and anybody else who had this problem. She would stop them from hurting and make it easier for them to walk than anybody else in the world.

But, because her brother could not carry on the family tradition of being a shinobi, she would have to put her medical plans on hold for a while, her father said. Instead, she kept learning. Every time she was supposed to be playing or resting, she pulled out her books and she learned everything possible. Though her brother was later killed in a raid by Mist, she kept on applying the knowledge she gobbled up during her time off. It paid off multiple times, including in giving Kakashi Obito's eye.

**Sakura**

The moment Sakura walked away from Sasuke, leaving him bleeding into his own hands, she held her head high. Sasuke and Naruto were now the two most powerful people to exist in several hundred generations and live to tell about it, and Sakura had turned them both down with her fists. She quit punching Naruto over a year ago, but only because he finally let her go and found out what love really was... who it was for him. This was the first, and possibly last, time Sakura would break something on Sasuke. She was glad she took the opportunity.

The whole time, she could feel the tension around her as the people gathered at the party stilled when Sasuke knelt down before her. He begged her forgiveness, offered expensive jewelry, and asked her to be the mother of his children, his wife if she wished. Sakura looked everywhere but at him when she saw the jewelry. It was completely against her tastes... all golden and full of flashy jewels. If he had finally come to care for her, he would have known she didn't want something like that.

She locked on to a pair of dark eyes near the door, a long scar running through the left one... Kakashi was watching carefully, despite leaning casually against the wall, ankles and arms crossed.

"Fuck you," she said just loud enough for those closest to hear, then walked out the door. Kakashi followed her down the street, grabbed her by the arm a ways down, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm proud of you," he whispered into her hair.

**Tenzo**

Near the main cemetery, a second, smaller one sat. It was for the animals that worked with the shinobi. Mostly, ninken were buried there. Today, was a day to clear off the headstones of the honored dead of this place... to remove the leaves and weeds. But one person waited behind the few others that tended their partners' graves. Once they were gone, Tenzo flew into action. A perfectly size stick for every dog was created and laid near the headstone. A small patch of catnip for every feline. The birds were given nuts, and the snakes were given mice the local cats had caught. The mice, on the other hand, were rewarded with small portions of peanut butter, as were the other rodents. Rabbits got tall blades of thick, green grass, and the one monkey was rewarded for her hard work with a peach, her favorite, he was told.

The blandness humans demanded for their cemeteries should not be pushed on the spirits of the animals, Tenzo thought. He made sure it never lasted for too long, and each got something they loved and deserved.

**Urushi**

She may not have known every customer by name, but Uchiha Urushi knew many by their orders. She could have their orders bagged up the moment they opened the bakery door, price (often reduced for favorites) rang up on the register, and a smile on her face, ready to hear the latest gossip as her husband continued kneading dough in the back. She knew the whole clan's business, it seemed, and was very careful what she told anyone about anyone. It was easier to stay everyone's confidant that way, easier to be trusted for good advice. She loved making people's days brighter every chance she got.

Especially Itachi's day. Though he came to get the gods his mother called ahead and ordered, Urushi always handed him a cup of cider and a jelly biscuit for his own breakfast or snack. He was always so polite and helpful with the elderly customers, she couldn't help hugging him every chance she got.

**Watase**

Being left behind sucked. Watase wanted to fight in this war so very badly, but, as Ebisu said, someone might still attack at home. The war could very well come to them here, and Watase would be needed to defend it. When even that didn't happen, he wanted to cry for his unearned glory.

When he saw the scant few shinobi walking (and limping) back home, though, he understood why he wasn't able to go. Of the hundreds they sent, Konoha only got back a few dozen.

**Yugao**

Dating a teammate was definitely against the rules among the ANBU. Others could relax on it if they were not currently working together, but, in ANBU, once a teammate, always a teammate. People only took breaks from ANBU, or were permanently retired from life. Even after becoming a teacher, Kakashi was required to return for one mission a year. He worked for almost three years solid after Uchiha Sasuke left town. Tenzo only took a break to fill in for Kakashi. Itachi left because... well... that was too dark to think about.

Which left Yugao alone.

She got shuffled from team to team, never quite fitting in with anybody. So, for a while, she tried the solo rout. Then Kakashi came back. They started working together again, and all Yugao heard was questions from Tenzo about ho she was doing, where she lived now, when she would be free again.

"It's almost like he's an old boyfriend who didn't get the hint that you're not his girl anymore," Kakashi mentioned one day.

Little did he know that her one night off a few years back led to drunken sex. It was the night before Tenzo got called to be Kakashi's replacement. "We flirted in the past. I think he read too much into it. Please just tell him to move on already."

**Zaji**

Excelling at your job is one thing. Not being able to turn off the abilities that help you excel at your job, however, can be a curse. Zaji knew this well. That's why he lived so far outside of Konoha's boarders. He could constantly sense what was going on around him. It meant getting any sleep would be impossible in town. This war was draining enough, but the slower trek home, constantly surrounded by others day and night, in a system that meant at least fifty people were awake at all times of the night... that sucked.

Thank the gods for people like Shizune-san. That woman found a way to shut off his chakra until they got home. It was uncomfortable, but he could sleep. He could have energy to move during the day. He would make it home sane.

He really should think about marrying that woman!


End file.
